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TRUMBULL, Conn. — A reported hostage situation that led Trumbull police to set up an hours-long perimeter in a standoff at a large apartment complex in town Wednesday afternoon turned out to be a fake, police said.

The incident began at about 1 p.m. at the Royce of Trumbull apartment complex on Old Town Road, police said in a statement just after 7 p.m.

“Trumbull police were notified by another law enforcement agency that a woman was being held hostage inside one of the Royce apartments by a man who was armed with a weapon,” Trumbull police Lt. Douglas Smith said in a statement. “Police checked the information provided and learned that the male was also a fugitive.”

Trumbull Police, assisted by the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team, closed down the apartment complex and set up a perimeter around the building in the Royce complex.

"Officers evacuated the nearby apartments in the complex for the safety of the other residents, and made numerous attempts to contact those in the apartment involved," Smith said in the statement.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts, the Emergency Response Team gained entry to the unit at 5:30 p.m., he said.

But the apartment was unoccupied, Smith said.

The lockdown at the apartment complex has been lifted and residents may return to their homes, he said.

The police investigation is continuing, and officers were attempting to locate the unidentified woman who made the initial call in order to verify that she is safe and unharmed, police said.

Bridgeport Police, as well as K9 units from the Fairfield and Shelton Police Departments assisted the Trumbull police in this incident.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Bridgeport’s Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet High School was placed in lock-in/lock-out mode due to the nearby police activity.

At that time, Royce residents who were not at home had been advised to remain outside the complex, and no one was being allowed in the main gate. Royce residents inside their homes were told to remain indoors during the afternoon standoff.

The Trumbull School system held students who live at the Royce at their schools, police said.